Guide to the Conrad M. Arensberg papers, 1931-1997 Christy Fic The papers of Conrad M. Arensberg were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Vivian E. Garrison Arensberg. 2011 October National Anthropological Archives Museum Support Center 4210 Silver Hill Road Suitland 20746 [email protected] http://www.anthropology.si.edu/naa/ Table of Contents Collection Overview ........................................................................................................ 1 Administrative Information .............................................................................................. 1 Scope and Contents........................................................................................................ 4 Arrangement..................................................................................................................... 5 Biographical Note............................................................................................................. 2 Selected Bibliography...................................................................................................... 5 Names and Subjects ...................................................................................................... 6 Container Listing ............................................................................................................. 8 Series 1: Correspondence, 1933-1994.................................................................... 8 Series 2: Writings, 1936-1983................................................................................ 27 Series 3: Research files, 1931-1984...................................................................... 34 Series 4: Professional activities, 1933-1990.......................................................... 39 Series 5: Teaching files, 1938-1983....................................................................... 43 Series 6: Biographical files, 1946-1997................................................................. 59 Series 7: Subject files, 1934-1979......................................................................... 60 Series 8: Photographs, undated............................................................................. 66 Conrad M. Arensberg papers NAA.2011-17 Collection Overview Repository: National Anthropological Archives Title: Conrad M. Arensberg papers Identifier: NAA.2011-17 Date: 1931-1997 Extent: 33.3 Linear feet (83 document boxes) Creator: Arensberg, Conrad M. (Conrad Maynadier), 1910-1997 Language: English . Summary: This collection contains the professional papers of Conrad M. Arensberg, anthropologist, university professor, and anthropological consultant. Included are correspondence; published and unpublished writings; research materials, including notes, correspondence, diaries, charts, drafts, interviews, research plans, reports, project proposals, and bibliographic cards; speeches; pamphlets; articles from newspapers and periodicals; course materials, including bibliographies, lecture notes, reading lists, assignments, exams, project proposals, and syllabi; curriculum vitae; date books; scholarly papers and publications of other scholars; and photographs. Administrative Information Acquisition Information These papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Vivian E. Garrison Arensberg in 2011. Related Materials Arensberg is listed as a correspondent in the following collections at the Smithsonian Institution's National Anthropological Archives: John Lawrence Angel papers; Papers of Carleton Stevens Coon; Ethel Cutler Freeman papers; Frederica de Laguna papers; Ruth Landes papers; William Duncan Strong papers. For oral history interviews with Arensberg, see the following collections: -The Smithsonian Institution's Human Studies Film Archives "Video Dialogues in Anthropology: Conrad Arensberg and Lambros Comitas, 1989." In this video oral history conducted by anthropologist Lambros Comitas, Arensberg comments on his training in anthropology, the individuals who were influential in his career, and the geographical areas where he conducted his fieldwork. -The National Anthropological Archives Manuscript (MS) 2009-15. May Mayko Ebihara conducted this oral history interview with Arensberg on March 7, 1984 as part of a larger oral history project with anthropologists. Page 1 of 66 Conrad M. Arensberg papers NAA.2011-17 For more concerning Arensberg's work with interaction theory, see the Frederick L.W. Richardson papers at the National Anthropological Archives. Richardson worked closely with Eliot Chapple and Conrad Arensberg on theories concerning human interaction. For correspondence and other information related to Arensberg's Ireland research, see: Solon Toothaker Kimball Papers, Special Collections, Teachers College, Columbia University; and Solon Toothaker Kimball Papers, The Newberry Library, Chicago. Additional materials concerning Arensberg's research and personal life can be found among the papers of his wife, anthropologist Vivian "Kelly" Garrison. See the Vivian E. Garrison papers at the National Anthropological Archives. Processing Information The papers of Conrad M. Arensberg were prepared for deposit at the National Anthropological Archives by Vivian E. Garrison Arensberg. The papers arrived at the archives partially organized, with a general description of the contents written on the record storage boxes. Some of the materials were in labeled folders, but most were not. Original folder titles were retained. Folder titles assigned by the archivist are indicated by square brackets. Files have been rehoused in acid free folders. The archivist kept existing groupings and organized the collection into eight series. While the materials were organized into several natural series— correspondence, teaching materials, Eastern and Central Europe, and industrial relations files, several series—writings, biographical files, professional activities, and research files— were imposed by the archivist with the help of biographical information as well as Arensberg's curriculum vitae. These materials were scattered throughout the collection and had to be brought back together. Restricted materials were separated and replaced with notes indicating original and new locations. Processed by Christy Fic, 2011. Finding aid originally encoded by Jocelyn Baltz, 2012 June. Finding aid updated and encoded by Katherine Madison, 2018 June. Preferred Citation Conrad M. Arensberg papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution Restrictions The Conrad M. Arensberg papers are open for research. Files containing Arensberg's students' grades have been restricted, as have his students' and colleagues' grant and fellowships applications. For preservation reasons, the computer disk containing digital correspondence files from Joel Halpern is restricted. Access to the Conrad M. Arensberg papers requires an appointment. Conditions Governing Use Contact the repository for terms of use. Biographical Note Conrad M. Arensberg was born on September 12, 1910 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Academically inclined from a young age, he graduated first in his class at Shadyside Academy in Pittsburgh. His early Page 2 of 66 Conrad M. Arensberg papers NAA.2011-17 success earned him admittance to Harvard College. Arensberg studied anthropology and graduated summa cum laude in 1931. As a graduate student at Harvard University, Arensberg was asked to join a project being conducted in Ireland by Harvard's Anthropology Department. Alongside W. Lloyd Warner and Solon T. Kimball, Arensberg spent three years studying rural Irish life in County Clare. This research resulted in his doctoral dissertation, "A Study in Rural Life in Ireland as Determined by the Functions and Morphology of the Family," which was later published as The Irish Countryman in 1937. His work was groundbreaking in the field of anthropology, and his study of County Clare "became a model for other community studies... requiring that researchers study a target culture from the inside, making meticulous notes on everything they saw, heard or experienced." Arensberg reshaped the way that anthropologists approached fieldwork and opened doors for the study of modern industrial societies. Arensberg had a long teaching career. He first became a university professor in 1938 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and remained a professor for the rest of his life, teaching at MIT, Brooklyn College, Barnard College, Columbia University, the University of Florida, and the University of Virginia. At Columbia, Arensberg worked alongside such notable anthropologists as Margaret Mead, Charles Wagley, and Marvin Harris. Arensberg officially retired in 1979, but he continued to collaborate with his colleagues, counsel past students, and participate in professional associations until his death. He passed away on February 10, 1997 in Hazlet, New Jersey. Sources Consulted Comitas, Lambros. 2000. "Conrad Maynadier Arensberg (1910-1997)." American Anthropologist 101(4): 810-813. Curriculum Vitae—Amended Posthumously. Series 6. Biographical Files. Conrad M. Arensberg papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution. Thomas, Robert McG. Jr. 1997. "Conrad Arensberg, 86, Dies; Hands-On Anthropologist." New York Times, February 16: 51. Chronology 1910 September 12 Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1931 B.A. from Harvard College 1932-1934 Traveled to Ireland to study rural life in County Clare as part of the Harvard Irish Mission